You might be wondering, "What exactly is Volume?"
So glad you asked!
It's a two-day music festival taking place at various downtown venues on June 1 and 2, with a lineup covering a broad range of genres and featuring bands both local and touring. We like to think we offer a little something for everyone.
If you're a Volume newbie — or a music festival neophyte — we've done our best to make it a bit easier for you.
Do you...
...WANT A LITTLE TWANG?
Then nYne Bar and Bistro on Friday night is the place to be, starting at 7:30 pm with Travesura, followed by Jenny Don't and the Spurs (8:30 pm) and local favorites Silver Treason (9:30 pm). On Saturday, also at nYne, don't miss Trego (8:15 pm) and Marshall McLean and the Holy Rollers (9:45 pm), both of whom tip their Stetsons to country and folk sounds.
...LIKE OLD-SCHOOL ROCK?
Blake Braley (Friday at 8:15 pm, Big Dipper) leans more toward classic R&B than rock, but he'll appeal to anyone who likes anything retro. Meanwhile, Buffalo Jones (Saturday at nYne, 6:15 pm) are influenced by 1970s album rock; Nat Park and the Tunnels of Love (Saturday at the Washington Cracker Building, 7:45 pm) worship at the altars of Little Richard and Chuck Berry; Bar Talk (Saturday at Mootsy's, 12:15 am) is the kind of rock 'n' roll quartet that's perfect for grooving with a beer in hand.
...ENJOY HIP-HOP?
Friday night at the Washington Cracker Building is a one-stop hip-hop shop. Starting at 6 pm with Seattle duo ExZac Change and Matisse, the evening rolls on with Bad Yoshi (7 pm), Skellee (8 pm), KarmaKnows (8:50 pm) and Ryan Caraveo (10 pm). On Saturday, head to the Red Room for Brotha Nature (10:15 pm), All Star Opera (11:15 pm) and Kung Fu Vinyl (12:15 am), who all experiment with hip-hop sounds.
...LOVE SYNTHS?
In that case, we recommend all the bands taking the Bartlett's stage on Friday, including Valen (7 pm), Mini Murders (9 pm) and Water Monster (10 pm). And don't skip out on the back-to-back dancy goodness of Summer in Siberia (9:15 pm) and Flee the Century (10:15 pm) at the Big Dipper on Saturday.
...PREFER PUNK?
Get your head banging on at the Observatory on Friday night, where Collate (8 pm) and Casual Hex (9 pm) are turning things up to 11. When they're done, hop over to Mootsy's for a set by Mala Vida (10:15), then put an ice pack on your sore neck.
...WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY?
A bunch of our venues are closing out both nights of Volume with DJ sets: DJ Croquet at Baby Bar (10 pm, both nights); DJ Soul1 (Friday at 10:30 pm) and DJ C-Mad (Saturday at 11 pm) at nYne; and DJ Unifest at Red Room (6:30 pm and in between sets both nights at Red Room Lounge).
